Operation Meteor
by Velvetblight Belial
Summary: A more eco-friendly ending to the Sailor Moon R movie.


" _I collect spores, molds, and fungus."_

\- Egon Spengler

* * *

Chibiusa looked up from the daisy in her hands and gazed into the sky with Luna and Artemis. Thousands of miles away, visible as only a tiny speck, was a slowly moving asteroid. It had been a few hours since the Sailor Soldiers left Earth to intercept the approaching alien menace.

"I'm worried about them," Luna said.

"I wish we had some way to contact them," Artemis gloomily added. "I hate sending Minako out alone like this."

"Don't worry, you guys. Sailor Moon and the others can stand up against anything." Chibiusa said in an optimistic tone. "I bet they're kicking that alien thing's butt right now."

She smiled and looked back down at the harmless little flower.

* * *

The Xenian flower was spreading out of control. The monster's humanoid upper half had grown to the size of an adult woman, while her lower plant half had become several stories tall and writhed with thousands of sentient leaves and vines. The Sailor Soldiers valiantly fought off the Xenian's attacks with their elemental magic, with Rei doing the most damage with her sweeping walls of fire. Perhaps that was why she was targeted first.

While the Sailor Soldiers were busy mowing down the overgrown weeds in front of them, a single flower bud slightly larger than a watermelon descended behind Rei's head. It silently opened, revealing its twin stamens that aligned perfectly with her ears. The bulb abruptly lurched forward, closing around Rei's forehead and leaving only her nose and mouth uncovered. The other Soldiers didn't notice until it was too late.

The Xenian moaned softly as she released a generous dose of her spores into Rei's ears. Rei flailed in the flower's grip as thick streams of nectar seeped out of the pod and oozed down her cheeks.

Airborne, a single pod of spores could subdue most Earthling lifeforms within a ten mile radius with a mild form of chemical hypnosis. But Sailor Mars was no ordinary Earthling, and the Xenian flower was in the mood for something a little more serious than simple mind tricks. The entire colony of aggressive alien microbes was on an express trip toward Mars' central nervous system.

"Don't be afraid, Sailor Mars," the Xenian's voice echoed ominously. Her eyes flickered with a menacing red aura. "I'm just dissolving the parts of your pathetic human brain you won't be needing anymore."

Rei could only resist for a matter of seconds. There was something eerie about her when the pod loosened its hold and she calmly shook the slime out of her long dark hair. She raised her arms, gathered her majestic powers, and fired her Burning Mandala spell…

…toward the other Sailor Soldiers.

"What's wrong with her?" Makoto shouted in disbelief, shielding herself from the flames.

Ami nervously tapped her earring to activate her Sailor Suit's visor. The device gave her an x-ray view into Rei's body and showed an alarming number of blinking red dots representing an unidentifiable foreign material.

"She's been infected with some sort of pathogen," Ami stated. "The highest particle count is around her head."

"I can fix this," Usagi said urgently. "Hold on, Rei!"

She opened her brooch and attempted to use Moon Crystal Power to cure Rei. When Rei was hit by the waves of soothing healing light, she simply placed her hands on her hips and smirked.

"None of your magic trinkets will make a difference, Sailor Soldiers," the Xenian flower chuckled above them. "My pollen has already assumed control of her vital functions. Even if you found a way to clear her mind, her body won't be able to survive on its own."

Rei ran forward and attacked Usagi with a flying kick. Usagi reluctantly crossed her arms in self-defense. The Xenian flower sent more of its vines after the Sailor Soldiers, turning the scene into complete chaos.

Ami slowly backed away, shaking her head in shock. Another of the spore-bearing pods lowered behind her and easily slipped over her short blue hair. Soon the Xenian flower had two Sailor Soldiers under her command.

Jupiter and Venus became cornered by vicious weeds, standing back to back as they focused their attacks in opposite directions. More tendrils reached up from the ground and tied the two girls together around the waist, leaving them gift-wrapped for the Xenian's delight. Two separate pods descended on them, dunking both of their heads in the creature's vile sap. The Xenian let out a sensuous grunt as she made sure to squeeze every last spore out of her flower buds. Makoto and Minako screamed in matching soprano voices with their uncovered mouths for the first few seconds, before sighing in a strange sense of relief.

Usagi was the only one left, and her infested teammates were quickly closing in around her. Bathed in pheromones and wholly subservient to the Xenian flower, they were driven toward a single collective purpose: Pollinating Sailor Moon.

The four Sailor Soldiers grabbed Usagi by each of her limbs. Giggling mischievously, they teased her in hushed voices.

"Caught you, cute little bunny."

"What's wrong, Sailor Moon? Don't you want to be friends anymore?"

"You're gonna be just like us."

"Don't try to fight us, Usagi. We just want to make sure you get your veggies."

Sailor Mercury and Sailor Venus helped lower the Xenian's final pod to her head, playfully guiding its leaves so it could fit over the red clips in her hair buns.

Usagi cringed as she felt the moist stigmas brush against her ears. The vines that linked the Xenian's massive undulating body to Usagi's bulb-covered head began to pump fluid in a slow, rhythmic _glub, glub_.

The first few million spores swept over Usagi's cerebral cortex. Her gloved fingers spasmed and contorted at her sides, then peacefully coming to rest.

* * *

Chibiusa suddenly doubled over in pain. Luna and Artemis couldn't understand what was wrong. Without any sign of injury, she seemed as if someone or something had stricken her straight through the heart.

* * *

The five Sailor Soldiers gathered in front of Xenian flower. Even though the fight was over, she was far from finished with her new minions. Infesting their minds with her noxious spores was only a 'quick fix' to make them easier to deal with. Their bodies still had to undergo a drastic change if they were to flourish in the new world.

The foliage at the base of the enormous Xenian shifted, revealing five differently colored flowers that shared the same roots as the Xenian herself. Massive in their own right, they looked like a set of man-eating tulips.

The Xenian beckoned the Sailor Soldiers with a welcoming smile. Sailor Mercury anxiously huddled into the blue flower. Sailor Mars entered the red flower, Sailor Jupiter entered the green one, Sailor Venus entered the yellow one, and Sailor Moon entered the pink one. The petals closed over each girl to form a protective blanket. Their roots shimmered as the Xenian shared part of her own energy with each flower.

"Sleep well, my daughters," the Xenian cooed. "You'll need your strength when it's time to bloom into your true forms. I'll need your help to spread my seed once we reach Earth."

The Xenian flower focused her malignant will and steered the asteroid toward the now unguarded planet.

* * *

As she struggled in pain, Chibiusa experienced a frightening vision of the future. In place of Crystal Tokyo, she saw an alien landscape teething with countless gigantic flowers. In the center of the surreal garden were the five Sailor Soldiers, or at least something bearing their likeness. They were wearing the same white Sailor Suits as before, but the skirts and scarves on their costumes were made out of color-coordinated flower petals, and their skin had a slight emerald tint. The most fearsome thing about them was their eyes. Five pairs of eyes glowing bright red, just like the Xenian flower.

Chibiusa gasped a final time. Then she disappeared.


End file.
